David Hearn’s legal team is pushing for a formal watchdog investigation into one of the Trump administration’s most embarrassing prosecutorial missteps in recent memory.
On Tuesday, Hearn’s lawyers sent a detailed 21-page letter to the inspectors general at both the Justice and Interior Departments, requesting coordinated investigations.
The legal team includes Michael Bromwich, himself a former DOJ inspector general, alongside Steven Levin and Jason Weinstein of Steptoe law firm.
Mary Dohrmann of the Washington Litigation Group and Norm Eisen and Joshua Kolb of Democracy Defenders Fund are also part of the team pursuing the inquiry.
Their letter asks watchdogs to examine Hearn’s arrest, his indictment, and the full chain of events that followed throughout a deeply troubled prosecution.
The case centers on Trump’s rushed, multimillion-dollar renovation of the National Mall’s Reflecting Pool, which began peeling and deteriorating almost immediately after completion.
Rather than accept responsibility for the flawed work, the administration pointed the finger at vandals, setting in motion a prosecution that would unravel spectacularly.
Hearn, a 67-year-old three-time Olympic canoeist who was simply out on a bike ride, became the public face of the alleged vandalism the administration was determined to punish.
On July 2, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro secured a felony indictment against Hearn carrying a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison.
By July 31, Pirro moved to dismiss the case entirely, conceding in court that the damage had resulted from a “flawed installation” rather than any criminal act.
That admission drew a sharp reaction from President Trump, who publicly described Pirro as having “folded like an umbrella,” triggering weeks of speculation that she faced termination.
On October 1, Judge Todd Edelman formally dismissed the case with prejudice, finding the government had “shot first and asked questions later” in its rush to prosecute.
Last week, a D.C. Superior Court judge went further still, ensuring the Trump administration can never again prosecute Hearn over the same incident.
With the case now permanently closed, Hearn’s lawyers are determined to establish accountability for how such a flawed prosecution was initiated and allowed to proceed as far as it did.
Whether the inspectors general at the relevant departments will take up the call for investigation remains an open and uncertain question for those watching the case closely.